


Compromises in the Dark

by ardentaislinn



Category: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)
Genre: Arguing, F/M, Late Night Conversations, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 05:29:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8877772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentaislinn/pseuds/ardentaislinn
Summary: Elizabeth and Darcy must learn to compromise.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [doctor_denmark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctor_denmark/gifts).



Moonlight pierced through a crack in the curtains, slicing over Elizabeth and Darcy’s bed. His soft, slow breathing was loud in the hushed room. His hand rested lightly on her stomach as he slept; it was as if he always needed to be touching her, even in his dreams. A soft smile of affection graced Elizabeth’s lips as she turned her head towards him.

She loved the man, even if she was still annoyed at him from the argument they’d had earlier that day. The same argument they’d been having for a week.

She leaned over to place a kiss on his forehead, then slowly eased out from beneath the covers. The chill of the night air hit her skin, raising goosebumps. Elizabeth slid a pillow beneath his palm to disguise her absence, and then crept towards the bedroom door. 

What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

Her footsteps were muffled by the carpet, though it was unnecessary. Her training at the Shaolin temples had taught her to move silently. She reached the door, turned the knob, and winced as the door gave a small squeak of protest as she opened it. She must have it oiled as soon as possible.

She turned back, but the rhythm of Darcy’s breathing hadn’t changed. He slept on.

Elizabeth slipped out into the darkened corridor. She needed no lantern, having learned the corridors of Pemberley quite intimately in the six months since her marriage. Besides, she couldn’t risk alerting the household to her nightly excursions.

She was nearly at the armoury when a whisper of unease passed through her. She turned, but not fast enough, as a large body grasped her shoulders and pushed her against the wall.

Elizabeth lashed out, her foot connecting solidly with her attacker’s groin. He let out a grunt of pain, folding in on himself.

“Elizabeth, it’s me,” said Darcy’s strained voice.

“ _ I know _ ,” she replied, and went to kick him again. His arm shot out, capturing her leg before she could land a blow. He locked her leg against his waist and backed her up against the wall.

Both of them were breathing heavily, chests sliding against each other with pleasant friction. His hard body pressed forward, and she felt him against every inch of her. Her skin tingled as it always did when they were in close contact. Damn him and the power he had over her.

She clawed at him, going for his eyes, but he captured both her hands in one of his, locking them above her head. His intense gaze was hot with fury, and maybe a little something else.

Elizabeth wiggled against him to test her theory, and his eyes darkened as he hardened against her. She grinned in triumph.

He narrowed his eyes, but didn’t let her go. No matter. She could think of at least twenty ways to escape him if she chose, but felt no need just yet.

“Elizabeth,” he murmured. “We’ve talked about this. You can’t go sneaking off into the night to kill zombie hordes any more.”

His palm brushed against her bare thigh where it still wrapped around his waist. A pleasant shiver rippled through her.

“Well, when can I? You forbade me to go during daylight as well.”

He gave her an exasperated look. “You know you shouldn’t go out at all.”

Elizabeth’s jaw clenched. “You promised you wouldn’t ask me to hang up my sword after we got married. You promised!”

“That was before--”

“Before what? You put a ring on my finger?” She knew she was being unfair, but couldn’t stop the words from tumbling from her.

“Before you got  _ with child _ .”

The words rang between them. Elizabeth stared up at her husband in impotent fury, their gazes locked in a silent battle of wills.

“And whose fault is that?” she asked eventually.

Darcy rolled his eyes. “Both of ours, if I recall correctly.”

She wrinkled her nose. She’d give him that. And what a night it had been…

She sighed in memory, some of the fight leaving her. Darcy loosened his grip on her hands, testing her. When she didn’t fight back, he let them go. She immediately gripped the thin fabric of his nightshirt.

“I can’t let this child change me, Darcy. I can’t give up my life, everything that makes me who I am.”

He let out a breath. “I’m not asking you to. I just ask that you set aside your fighting for a while, at least until the child is safely born.”

“And leave you to fight alone?” she whispered.

His brows tugged down into a frown as his eyes searched hers. “Yes,” he said. “If you have to. At least I’ll know then that you are safe, and carrying a part of me with you, always.”

His hand slipped between them and settled on her stomach.

“Do you not want this child?” he asked her hesitantly.

“I do,” she replied immediately. “I love you. I want us to have a family. But I can’t be the kind of mother that stays at home and waits for you to return. It just isn’t me. And if you want that in a wife, then perhaps you should have married someone else.”

His eyes widened in shock as the barb stung. She hadn’t meant to upset him, only to impress her point.

He leaned in closer so they were eye to eye, inches apart. “I want this baby, Elizabeth. But I also don’t want you to change. I love you exactly as you are. If the only way you can see yourself being happy is to kill the ravening hordes all throughout your pregnancy, then I will accept your choice. I just can’t help but feel that there’s another way. One where you and our unborn child are safe, and you still get to use your deadly arts on the battlefield. A compromise.”

Now that the fire of fury had died down within her, Elizabeth felt rationality return. He was right. She couldn’t continue blithely on as she had been, fighting every chance she got. She had to pick her battles, come up with a strategy that would see this child be safely born while she still protected her home, and her husband.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You’re right. I should be more careful.”

He smiled, and placed a kiss against her lips. “I don’t hear those words very often from you,” he teased.

She giggled. “You’re right? If I said it more often, I’d be lying.”

He kissed her harder now, laughing against her lips. Then, he pulled back.

“So, what are we going to do? How can I make you happy, Elizabeth? You know that’s all I want.”

She pondered for a moment, considering the possibilities. A slow smile spread across her face as she realised a potential solution.

“I have been meaning to practice my skills with the crossbow. Perhaps now might be a good time to start improving with a weapon that can be used at a...safer distance.”

Darcy grinned. “I will buy you the best damn crossbows this country has ever seen. Flaming arrows, exploding tips, whatever you ask.”

Elizabeth laughed at his enthusiasm. She wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped, wrapping both her legs around his waist.

“You do know how to sweet-talk a woman,” she told him.

He grinned as he began carrying her back to their bedroom. “I know how to sweet-talk  _ you _ ,” he corrected. “I’m not sure that line would work on any other woman.”

He shut the bedroom door behind them with a click. 

“Good thing I’m the only one that matters, then,” she said primly. 

He tumbled her onto the bed, coming down on top of her, still trapped between her legs.

“Yes, you are,” he whispered against her lips, then proceeded to kiss her senseless.

The next morning saw a delivery of ten state-of-the-art crossbows and three carts full of arrows. Elizabeth knew that without a doubt, Darcy was--and always would be--the right man for her.


End file.
